Chapter 33 - Fighting an S rank...

The stadium is packed with rowdy spectators who are all cheering for the S rank adventurer. Rikichi stretches and smiles at me, ignoring the spectators. I can't lie. This is pumping me up a lot! I smile back at him. The announcer suddenly comes on.

"And now! The match between an S rank and a gold rank will now begin. Fight!"

With that, the duel between us starts. Right as the announcer stops talking, Rikichi charges at me at high speeds. He's the fastest I have seen other than me. He moves lightly as if he is air, but so fast that you could miss him if you blinked. Still, he looks a bit slow.

He a lot faster than the ball thrown by Tomo, but not as quickly as a car. He takes hold of his sword and shoves it onto me. I saw the other S rank close her eyes. I'm not sure why, though. Well, I guess I should start fighting now...

I smiled devilishly and ran behind him. I was faster than him, which make him lose his step. I didn't have a weapon, so I'll use my fist and punch him in the stomach. I do with high power. This launches Rikichi a couple of meters back but doesn't down him.

He laughs after receiving my attack.

"Hah! Your no joke. Maybe I can use my full strength on you!"

This time, he disappears. 'Huh?! Where did he go?'

I cautiously look around. It doesn't appear to be shadow magic. It's more like pure speed. I activated [Shadow Sense] so that I can detect his attacks, which it did. My magic told me that he was swinging at me. I dodge backward, hopefully evading his attack.

He reappears after I evade.

"Hah! Impressive. No one has ever dodge an attack from me when I'm in full-speed mode. Come on! Don't disappoint me."

He disappears again. That's a bit annoying. I mean, there are plenty of ways to combat him. I could fly in the air, which would make his speed useless. I could also go full speed, making me invisible, too; however, those choices are a bit dull. What else could I do?

I could use fire and burn everything. Sure, let's do that! I cast a barrier around the spectators and me and put my hand out. Then, I cast a magic circle and adjust it so that it would rain flames from above. I launch the spell. A vast magic circle forms from above the arena. All the spectators look in awe.

Then, flames started to rain down intensely. After a minute of the flame rain, I deactivated the spell and look onward; however, I notice an attack from behind. I dodged and tried to kick in that direction. Rikichi reappears but a meter away. It seems my kick didn't land.

"That's a nice spell. Too bad it didn't work."

Rikichi now smiles deviously. Shit, what did he do? Wait... Is he so fast that he can dodge each flame. No, he is doing something else. Maybe he can go in slow motion... If so, then he can avoid any attack I throw at him.

To test this theory, I go at full speed at Rikichi, who isn't invisible yet. My speed tosses dirt and dust everywhere, making it hard to see. I charge at him, thrusting my fist at his stomach... But I went right past him.

I stop and rebalance myself after my attack failed. It seems I was right. He isn't faster than me. It just looks like he is.

"Nice ability. Do I look good in slow motion?"

The S class girl looks at me with a surprised expression, but Rikichi just smiles.

"Haha! So, you notice? Correct! No matter how fast you are, you'll always be going in slow motion to me. This skill is what allowed me to make it to the S rank. Now, let's continue!"

He disappears, or rather, he's moving in my blind spots, so it looks as if I can't see him. Since I'm in slow motion to him, he is technically faster than me. He'll know any attack that's coming. It's pretty much a stalemate.

Suddenly, the female starts shouting at us.

"Rikichi! I think this is enough. He'll never defeat you, and you'll never defeat him. It's a stalemate! Just stop the duel."

"Haha! Yeah, right. Things are just about to get interesting."

He replies, still invisible. Man, this guy is annoying. S ranks are no joke. What can I do that isn't cheap? Well, it's not that cheap, but it should be equivalent to his ability.

I cast a barrier around me and disperse my shadow magic. Then, I held out my hand and summoned a magic circle. I stand there for 3 minutes, adjusting it. While this was happening, Rikichi tried to attack me a couple of times but failed to do to my barrier. The spectators all booed at this, but I ignored them.

After finishing the spell, I cast it out. '[Time Stop]!'

With this, time stops all around me. Rikichi reappears and is in a running motion. He is moving slightly. It seems this spell isn't perfect. It slows time down soo much that it seems time is at a stop. Hehe... Let's see if you can stop this attack!

I walk over to Rikichi and place my hand on his face. I resume time. Rikichi looks at me and realizes that I have his face. He tries to make me let go, but it was no use. I swing him up and slam him down on the ground. The impact creates a shockwave, sending dust everywhere.

The slam causes Rikichi to cough up blood. He blinks a couple of times and then comprehends what has happened. The announcer, who has been quiet the entire time, starts announcing.

"And that's the match! The officials have declared this duel invalid due to cheating..."

The spectators start being rowdy.

"Yeah! That gold cheated!" "He should be banned from adventuring!" "Kill him, I say!"

Everyone starts yelling at me. Man, how was I cheating? He pretty much did the same thing. I let go of Rikichi and healed his wounds. He gets up and smiles at me.

"Haha! I can't believe I lost. You were so fast that I couldn't comprehend what was happening! It was almost like you teleported instead of using pure speed... See, those who can use short-term teleportation are a disadvantage to me. I can dodge them, but it is hard."

Teleporting? Shit! I could have just teleported to him to combat him instead of stopping time! Well, I can't do anything now.

Before replying to him, an object suddenly gets chucked at me. It seems the spectators aren't a fan of me. Rikichi looked displeased and faced the spectators.

"Hey! Stop. Akuma won fair and square. With my authority of an S rank, I dubbed Akuma, the victor of this duel."

...

Everyone suddenly got quiet.